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Why  I  Believe 
The  Book  of  Mormon 

TO  BE 

The  Word  of  God 


BY    WILLIAM    A.    MORTON 
Salt    Lake   City 


Copyright   1918   by 
William  A.  Morion 


Why  I  Believe  the  Book  of  Mormon 
to  Be  the  Word  of  God 

By    William    A.    Morion 


"Search  the   scriptures/  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have   eternal  life: 

and  they  are   they  which   testify   of   me. "-John   5:39. 

• 

This  little  booklet  is  issued  in  response  to  numerous 
requests  received  from  people  who  have  heard  me 
speak  on  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  who  were  desirous 
of  seeing  the  address  in  print.  It  is  a  simple,  unpreten- 
tious effort,  yet  we  know  that  "by  very  small  and 
simple  means  the  Lord  doth  confound  the  wise,  and 
bringeth  about  the  salvation  of  many  souls." 

For  almost  thirty  years  I  have  been  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  During  this 
time  I  have  read  and  studied  the  Book  of  Mormon  a 
great  deal,  and  I  say,  in  all  sincerity,  that  the  more  I 
study  the  book  the  more  thoroughly  I  become  con- 
vinced that  it  is  a  divinely  inspired  record. 

I  believe  implicitly  in  the  Book  of  Mormon/  I  believe 
it  to  be  the  Word  of  God  to  the  Nephites  and  Laman- 
ites  who  once  inhabited  this  continent,  even  as  I 
believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  Word  of  God  to  the  Jews 
and  also  to  the  Gentiles. 

If  I  did  not  believe  Joseph  Smith's   testimony  con- 


WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


cerning  the  Book  of  Mormon,  I  could  not  believe  his 
testimony  that  he  had  seen  God  the  Father  and  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Son,  and  had  conversed  with  them  in  open 
vision/  neither  could  I  believe  his  testimony  that  he 
had  been  visited  by  John  the  Baptist,  and  had  been 
ordained  by  him  to  the  Aaronic  priesthood/  that  he 
had  been  ministered  unto  by  Peter,  James,  and  John, 
and  had  been  ordained  by  them  an  apostle  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ/  that  he  had  seen  Moses,  and  received 
from  him  the  keys  of  the  gathering  of  Israel  from  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  leading  of  the  Ten  Tribes 
from  the  land  of  the  north/  that  he  had  seen  the  Pro- 
phet Elijah,  and  had  obtained  from  him  the  keys  of 
turning  "the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and 
the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers. 

What  will  the  Book  of  Mormon  do  for  us?  It  will  help 
us  solve  any  theological  problem  that  may  be  pre- 
sented to  us.  By  way  of  illustration:  When  I  was  a 
youth,  serving  an  apprenticeship  to  the  printing  trade, 
one  of  the  printers  took  delight  in  propounding  riddles 
and  problems  to  his  fellow  workmen.  One  day  he  said 
to  the  other  compositors:  "I  have  a  new  problem  for 
you:  A  blacksmith  had  an  anvil  composed  of  four 
pieces,  with  which  he  could  weigh  from  one  pound  up 
to  forty  pounds.  Find  the  weight  of  each  piece."  The 
printers  put  their  heads  together  and  in  a  short  time 
the  problem  was  solved.  One  piece  of  the  anvil 
weighed  one  pound,  another  piece  weighed  three 
pounds,  another,  nine  pounds,  and  the  fourth  piece 
twenty-seven  pounds.  With  these  weights  a  person  can 
weigh  from  one  pound  up  to  forty  pounds. 


TO   BE    THE    WORD    OF    GOD 


Now,  once  we  become  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  is  true,  it  will,  as  I  have  said, 
solve  any  theological  problem  that  may  confront  us. 
Do  we  want  knowledge  concerning  God,  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  Holy  Ghost?  We  can  get  it  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  Would  we  know  concerning  the  pre-exis- 
tence  of  spirits?  Such  knowledge  may  be  obtained  from 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  Do  we  desire  to  know  if  the  fall 
of  man  and  the  atonement  made  by  Jesus  Christ  are 
facts?  The  Book  of  Mormon  will  answer  these  ques- 
tions. Do  we  wish  to  know  what  the  principles  and  or- 
dinances of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  are?  They  are  taught 
in  plainness  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  If  we  desire  in- 
formation regarding  the  intermediate  state -the  state 
in  which  the  spirits  of  men  live  between  the  time  of 
death  and  the  resurrection  -  we  can  find  it  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  Is  our  faith  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion weak?  The  Book  of  Mormon  will  greatly  streng- 
then it.  So  you  see  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  one  of 
the  most  precious  gifts  that  God  has  given  to  man. 

There  are,  as  the  reader,  no  doubt,  knows,  two  theo- 
ries respecting  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  One 
of  these  is  the  Solomon  Spaulding  theory,  which  has 
been  strongly  advocated  by  anti-Mormons  in  order  to 
keep  people  from  believing  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  be 
a  divinely  inspired  record.  According  to  this  theory,  a 
man  named  Solomon  Spaulding,  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  Ohio,  wrote  a  book  in  which  he  pur- 
ported to  give  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Ameri- 
can Indians.  After  Mr.  Spaulding's  death,  the  manu- 
script, so  it  is  asserted,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Joseph 


WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


Smith,  who,  with  others,  conspired  to  publish  it  and 
present  it  to  the  world  as  a  sacred  history  of  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  America. 

This  theory  is  so  absurd  that  it  is  surprising  to  me  it 
did  not  "like  the  new  moon,  set  with  its  rising."  Solo- 
mon Spaulding,  be  it  known,  was  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister/ but  this  fact  has  been  carefully  concealed  by 
those  who  have  advocated  the  theory  that  Mr.  Spauld- 
ing was  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Had  they 
let  this  fact  be  known  undoubtedly  they  would  have 
aroused  suspicion  and  greatly  weakened  their  argu- 
ment. For  this  reason:  Presbyterian  ministers  do  not 
write  books  condemning  in  strong  terms  certain  tenets 
of  their  church.  There  is  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  much 
that  is  at  variance  with  doctrines  taught  by  the  Presby- 
terian church;  indeed,  there  is  very  little  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  that  is  compatible  with  Presbyierianism. 
There  is  not  a  Presbyterian  church  in  the  world  that 
believes  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  On  the  contrary, 
Presbyterian  ministers  have  been  the  loudest  in  con- 
demning the  book.  A  Presbyterian  minister  could  not 
write  the  Book  of  Mormon  if  he  would/  and  he  would 
not  write  it  if  he  could.  I  will  here  state  that  the 
Spaulding  manuscript  was  discovered  in  1884,  and  is 
at  present  in  the  library  of  Oberlin  College,  Ohio.  On 
examination  it  was  found  to  bear  no  resemblance  what- 
ever to  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  theory  that  Solomon 
Spaulding  was  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
should  never  be  mentioned  again  -  outside  a  museum. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  other  theory- 
the  one  held  and  advocated  by  the  Church/  namely, 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD 


that  a  heavenly  messenger  named  Moroni  appeared  io 
Joseph  Smith  and  told  the  youth  about  a  set  of  Gold 
plates  which  were  hid  in  a  hill  a  short  distance  from 
his  home,  on  which  was  engraved  a  history  of  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  America/  that  four  years  later 
Joseph  Smith  was  permitted  to  take  the  plates  from 
their  hiding  place/  that  through  the  gift  and  power  of 
God  he  translated  them  into  English  and  presented  to 
the  world  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

Now,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  Church  has 
spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  printing  and  distributing 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  that  tens  of  thousands  of  mis- 
sionaries have  been  sent  with  its  message  to  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth.  Why  has  the  Church  done  this?  In 
order  to  perpetuate  fraud?  Verily,  no/  but  that  the 
world  might  have  a  new  witness  for  God  and  His 
Christ,  and  be  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  ever- 
lasting Gospel,  the  principles  and  ordinances  of  which, 
as  I  have  said,  are  set  forth  in  great  plainness  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

I  have  read  Joseph  Smith's  account  of  the  coming 
forth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  many  times,  and  I  am 
thoroughly  convinced  that  he  spoke  the  truth.  It  is 
much  easier  for  me  to  believe  Joseph  Smith's  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  than  it  would  be 
for  me  io  believe  that  the  wonderful  story,  with  all  its 
details,  was  the  product  of  Joseph  Smith's  imagination. 
It  is  surprising  to  me  that  intelligent  people  can  be- 
lieve that  an  unlearned  and  unsophisticated  youth  like 
Joseph  Smith  could  make  up  such  a  story.  No,  the  story 
is  too  big,  too  great,  too  wonderful,  for  the  mind  of 


WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


mortal  man  to  conceive.  When  I  was  a  child  I  learned 
a  number  of  nursery  rhymes,  among  them  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"Sing  a  song  of  sixpence,   a  wee  peck  of  rye/ 
Four   and   twenty    blackbirds    baked    in   a   pie/ 

When   the   pie   was   opened   the   birds   began   to   sing, 
Wasn't   that   a   dainty   dish   to   set   before   the   king?" 

Now,  when  someone  succeeds  in  making  me  be- 
lieve that  twenty-four  blackbirds  were  caught,  killed, 
plucked,  baked  in  a  pie,  and  that  when  the  pie  was 
opened  the  birds  came  out  and  began  to  sing,  then 
perhaps  I  may  be  led  to  believe  that  Joseph  Smith  man- 
ufactured, out  of  whole  cloth,  his  wonderful  story  of 
the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  But  not  until  then. 

I  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon  because  I  believe  the 
Bible -because  I  believe  the  prophets,  Christ  and  the 
apostles.  There  are  in  the  Bible  numerous  prophecies 
concerning  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  the  reader  to  hear  how  — by  means  of  these 
prophecies -I  succeeded  in  persuading  a  family  to 
read  the  Book  of  Mormon.  They  afterward  became 
members  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  first  time  I  vis- 
ited the  family  I  taught  them  about  the  true  and  living 
God  —  in  whose  image  man  is  created  -  and  about  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Only  Begotten  Son,  the  Savior  and  Redeem- 
er of  the  world.  On  my  second  visit  I  taught  them  the 
principles  of  faith  and  repentance.  The  third  time  I 
visited  the  family  I  taught  them  the  ordinances  of  bap- 
tism by  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  the 
laying  on  of  hands  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  On 
succeeding  visits  I  showed  that  it  is  necessary  for  a 


TO  BE  THE  WORD   OF   GOD 


man  to  hold  Divine  authority -to  be  "called  of  God, 
as  was  Aaron/' -in  order  for  him  to  preach  the  Gospel 
and  administer  in  the  ordinances  thereof.  I  also  ex- 
plained the  organization  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  with 
"apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  teachers,"  etc. 
I  brought  forth  evidence  from  the  Bible  in  support  of 
all  these  things,  and  as  the  members  of  the  family  were 
firm  believers  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  acknowl- 
edged that  what  I  had  taught  them  was  true. 

But  when  I  next  visited  the  family,  I  found  that  a 
great  change  had  come  over  them.  Instead  of  giving 
me  a  cordial  welcome,  as  they  had  done  before,  they 
received  me  coldly.  I  soon  learned  the  reason.  Ad- 
dressing me,  the  wife  and  mother  said:  "I  feel  that  we 
have  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways.  For  days  I  have 
had  the  impression  that  this  evening  you  would  pre- 
sent to  us  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  try  to  persuade  us 
to  accept  it  as  the  word  of  God.  If  such  is  your  in- 
tention you  may  just  as  well  leave  now,  for  I  do  not 
think  you  could  ever  succeed  in  getting  us  to  believe 
the  Book  of  Mormon." 

I  asked  the  good  woman  if  she  had  ever  read  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  She  confessed  she  had  not/  she  had 
not  even  seen  the  book,  neither  had  any  member  of  the 
family.  I  said  I  considered  it  rather  unfair  for  people 
to  pass  judgment  on  a  book  without  having  read  it. 
Then  I  asked  the  lady  if  she  believed  the  things  I  had 
taught  her  and  the  members  of  her  family,  on  my  for- 
mer visits.  Yes,  she  believed  all  of  them -because  I 
had  proved  them  by  the  Bible. 

"Then,  if  I  prove  to  you  by  the  Bible  that  the  Book 


10       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


of  Mormon  is  true,  you  w*ll  also  believe  the  Book  of 
Mormon?" 

To  this  she  replied:  "If  you  prove  to  us  by  evidence 
from  the  Bible  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  a  true  record, 
we  will  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon,  just  as  we  be- 
lieve the  Bible."  This  the  other  members  of  the  family 
likewise  agreed  to. 

"Before  considering  the  Book  of  Mormon,"  I  said,  "I 
desire  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  coming  of 
Christ.  God,  as  you  very  well  know,  did  not  send  His 
Son  into  the  world  without  telling  the  world  about  His 
coming.  For  hundreds  of  years  prior  to  the  birth  of 
the  Savior  the  children  of  Israel  were  taught  in  divers 
ways,  concerning  Him  —  concerning  His  birth,  His  life, 
and  also  His  death  upon  the  cross.  The  sacrifices  of- 
fered by  Adam  and  his  sons  were  similitudes  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  as  was  also 
the  sacrifice  which  the  Almighty  required  of  Abraham, 
of  which  we  read  in  the  22nd  chapter  of  Genesis: 

"  'And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  did  tempt 
Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Abraham:  and  he  said,  Behold,  here 
I  am. 

"  'And  he  said,  take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  Isaac,  whom 
thous  lovest,  and  gel  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah/  and  offer  him 
there  for  a  burnt  offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will 
tell  thee  of.'  "  (Genesis  22:1,  2.) 

"This  sacrifice,  while  required  of  Abraham  as  a  test 
of  his  faith,  was  a  type  of  a  far  greater  sacrifice  —  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  we  have  reason  for 
believing  that  Abraham  saw  in  his  sacrifice  a  type  of 


TO  BE  THE  WORD   OF  GOD  11 


the  sacrifice  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  for 
Christ,  while  addressing  the  Jews  on  one  occasion, 
said:  'Your  Father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day/ 
and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad.'"  (John  8:56.) 

"In  Abraham  and  Isaac  we  have  a  representation  of 
God  and  Christ -a  coming  event  casting  its  shadow 
before  it. 

"Later,  the  Lord  taught  the  children  of  Israel  in  a  still 
clearer  way  concerning  the  sacrifice  of  His  beloved 
Son,  as  recorded  in  the  12th  chapter  of  Exodus: 

"  'And  Ihe  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  saying, 


"  'Speak  ye  unto  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  saying,  In  the 
tenth  day  of  this  month  they  shall  take  to  them  every  man  a  lamb, 
according  to  the  house  of  their  fathers,  a  lamb  for  a  house. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

"  'Your  lamb  shall  be  without  blemish,  a  male  of  the  first  year: 
ye  shall  lake  it  from  the  sheep  or  from  the  goats: 

"  'And  ye  shall  keep  it  up  until  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  same 
month/  and  the  whole  assembly  of  the  congregation  of  Israel  shall 
kill  it  in  the  evening. 

"  'And  they  shall  take  the  blood,  and  strike  it  on  the  two  side 
posts  and  on  the  upper  door  post  of  the  houses/  wherein  they  shall 
eat  it: 

****** 

"  'And  thus  shall  ye  eat  it/  with  your  loins  girded,  your  shoes  on 
your  feet,  and  your  staff  in  your  hand/  and  ye  shall  eat  it  in  haste/ 
it  is  the  Lord's  passover. 

"  'For  I  will  pass  through  the  land  of  Egypt  this  night,  and  will 
smite  all  the  first  born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  both  man  and  beast/ 


12       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


and   against   all   the    gods   of    Egypt   I   will   execute    judgment,    I    am 
the    Lord. 

"  'And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  token  upon  the  houses 
where  ye  are:  and  when  I  see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you,  and 
the  plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  you,  when  I  smite  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

"  'And  this  day  shall  be  unto  you  for  a  memorial;  and  ye  shall 
keep  it  a  feast  to  the  Lord  throughout  your  generations/  ye  shall 
keep  it  a  feast  day  by  an  ordinance  forever.'  (Exodus  12:1,  5-7,  11-14.) 


"It  is  needless  for  me  to  tell  You/'  I  said  lo  tne 
ily,  "that  the  sacrificial  lamb  was  a  type  of  the  Lamb 
of  Godf  and  that  the  blood  of  the  lamb  which  was  shed 
to  save  the  first-born  of  the  children  of  Israel  was  a 
representation  of  the  blood  of  Christ  which  was  to  be 
shed  to  save  the  world." 

They  told  me  that  such  was  their  understanding  of 
the  Scriptures. 

I  continued:  "In  the  21st  chapter  of  Numbers  we  are 
told  about  another  way  in  which  the  children  of  Israel 
were  taught  concerning  the  Messiah."  I  read  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"  'And  the  people  spake  against  God,  and  against  Moses,  Where- 
fore have  ye  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  die  in  the  wilderness? 
for  there  is  no  bread,  neither  is  there  any  water/  and  our  soul 
loaiheth  this  light  bread. 

"  'And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents  among  the  people,  and  they 
bit  the  people/  and  much  of  the  people  of  Israel  died. 

"  'Therefore  the  people  came  to  Moses,  and  said,  We  have  sinned, 
for  we  have  spoken  against  the  Lord,  and  against  thee/  pray  unto 
the  Lord,  that  he  lake  away  the  serpents  from  us.  And  Moses  prayed 
for  the  people. 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  13 


"  'And  the  Lord  saith  unto  Moses,  Make  ihee  a  fiery  serpent,  and 
set  it  upon  a  pole:  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  everyone  that  is 
bitten,  when  he  lookelh  upon  it,  shall  live 

"  'And  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and  put  it  upon  a  pole/ 
and  it  came  to  pass,  that  if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he 
beheld  the  serpent  of  brass,  he  lived.'"  (Numbers  21:5-9.) 

Then  the  lady  of  the  house  said:  "This  Scripture  is 
quite  clear  to  us.  We  see  in  the  serpent  on  the  pole  a 
type  of  the  Savior  on  the  cross.  In  His  conversation 
with  Nicodemus,  Jesus  said,  'And  as  Moses  lifted  up 
the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of 
Man  be  lifted  up.  That  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  "  (John 
3:14,  15.) 

Addressing  the  family  again,  I  said:  "I  now  desire  to 
show  you  how,  by  means  of  prophecy,  the  Jews  were 
taught  concerning  the  Messiah.  We  find  in  the  7th 
chapter  of  Isaiah  the  following  plain  prediction  rela- 
tive to  the  birth  of  the  Savior: 

"  'Therefore  the  Lord  himself  shall  give  you  a  sign:  Behold,  a 
virgin  shall  concieve,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Im- 
manuel.'  (Isaiah  7.14.) 

"And  by  another  prophet  the  Almighty  foretold  the 
place  of  the  Redeemer's  birth  as  follows: 

"  'But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the 
thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  Ihee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that 
is  to  be  a  ruler  in  Israel/  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  old,  from 
everlasting.'  (Micah  5:2.) 

"In  the  53rd  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  find  the  life  of  the 
Savior  thus  clearly  portrayed  by  the  prophet: 


14       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


"  'Who  halh  believed  our  report?  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of 
the  Lord  revealed? 

"  'For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a 
root  out  of  a  dry  ground;  he  hath  no  form  nor  comliness/  and  when 
we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him. 

"  'He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men/  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief,  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him/  he 
was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not. 

"  'Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows/  yet 
we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted. 

"  'But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for 
our  iniquities/  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him/  and 
with  his  stripes  we  are  healed. 

"  'All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray/  we  have  turned  every  one 
to  his  own  way/  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 

"  'He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his 
mouth:  he  was  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep, 
before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openelh  not  his  mouth. 

"  'He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment:  and  who  shall 
declare  his  generation?  for  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the 
living:  for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken. 

"  'And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in 
his  death/  because  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  w"as  any  de- 
ceil  in  his  mouth. 

"  'Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him/  he  hath  put  him  to  grief: 
when  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall  see  his 
seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall 
prosper  in  his  hand. 

"  'He  shall  see  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied:  by 
his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many/  for  he  shall 
bear  their  iniquities. 

"  'Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he 
shall  divide  the  spoils  with  the  strong/  because  he  hath  poured  out 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  15 


his  soul  unto  death;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors/ 
and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  trans- 
gressors.' "  (Isaiah  53.) 

It  was  the  firm  belief  of  the  family  that  in  Jesus 
Christ -and  in  Him  alone -all  these  things  had  been 
fulfilled: 

He  was  the  sacrifice  foreshadowed  in  the  sacrifices 
offered  by  Adam  and  his  sons. 

He  was  the  sacrifice  of  which  Isaac  was  a  type. 

He  was  the  Lamb  slain  from  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  and  typified  in  the  lamb  sacrificed  by  the 
children  of  Israel  in  their  passover. 

He  was  the  One  raised  up  to  heal  the  nations  of  the 
terrible  consequence  of  sinf  even  as  the  brazen  serpent 
was  lifted  up  to  heal  the  afflicted  Israelites. 

He  was  the  One  Isaiah  had  prophesied  would  be 
born  of  a  virgin. 

He  was  the  Ruler  prophesied  of  by  Micah,  who 
would  come  out  of  Bethlehem. 

He  was  the  One  referred  to  by  Isaiah,  who  would 
be  "led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter/"  who  would  be 
"wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruised  for  our 
iniquities,"  and  with  whose  "stripes  we  are  healed." 

Having  thus  spoken  concerning  Christ,  I  set  to  work 
to  try  to  convince  the  family -with  evidences  from 
the  Bible -that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  true.  I  first 
called  their  attention  to  the  following  prophecy  made 
by  Jacob  concerning  his  son  Joseph: 


16       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


"Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough,  even  a  fruitful  bough  by  a  well, 
whose  branches  run  over  the  wall: 

"The  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him,  and  shot  at  him,  and 
hated  him : 

"But  his  bow  abode  in  strength,  and  the  arms  of  his  hands  were 
made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob;  (from  thence 
is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel.) 

"Even  by  the  God  of  thy  father,,  who  shall  help  thee/  and  by  the 

Almighty,    who  shall    bless    thee    with    blessings    of    heaven    above,- 

blessings   of  the  deep   that   lieth   under,   blessings   of   the   breasts   and 
of    the    womb : 

"The  blessings  of  thy  father  have  prevailed  above  the  blessings 
of  my  progenitors  unto  the  utmost  bound  of  the  everlasting  hills,- 
they  shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph,  and  on  the  crown  of  the  head 
of  him  that  was  separate  from  his  brethren."  (Genesis  49:22-26.) 

I  asked  the  family  if  they  knew  about  the  fulfillment 
of  this  prophecy.  No,  they  did  not.  They  had  read  the 
prophecy,  but  they  did  not  know  when  or  how  it  had 
been  fulfilled. 

I  told  them  thai,  according  to  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
in  the  year  600  B.  C.,  a  little  company  of  Israelites,  de- 
scendents  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob,  was  led  by  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem  to  the  land  that  is  now  called 
America,  where  they  became  a  great  nation.  Many 
prophets  were  raised  up  among  them,  who  taught  them 
the  commandments  of  God,  and  also  concerning  the 
coming  of  Christ,  even  as  the  prophets  had  taught  the 
people  on  the  eastern  continent.  They  kept,  on  metallic 
plates,  a  record  of  the  important  events  that  took  place 
among  them,  and  also  of  the  Lord's  dealings  with  them. 
After  his  resurrection,  Christ  appeared  to  them,  and 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  17 


ministered  unio  them.  He  taught  them  the  Gospel  and 
established  His  Church  among  them.  For  nearly  400 
years  afterwards  they  lived  in  peace  and  happiness. 
Then  pride  began  to  manifest  itself  among  them,  they 
became  divided,  contentions  followed,  and  later  ter- 
rible wars,  in  which  countless  thousands  of  lives  were 
sacrificed.  A  short  time  before  his  death,  Moroni,  the 
last  of  their  prophets,  at  the  command  of  the  Lord,  fin- 
ished their  records  and  buried  them  in  the  earth,  in  a 
hill  named  Cumorah.  There  they  lay  for  hundreds  of 
years.  On  the  21st  of  September,  1823,  Moroni  ap- 
peared to  Joseph  Smith  and  told  him  about  the  sacred 
records  which  he  (Moroni)  had  deposited  in  Cumorah, 
Four  years  later  Joseph  Smith  was  permitted  to  take  the, 
records  from  their  hiding  place,  Through  the  gift  and 
power  of  God  he  translated  them  into  English,  the  re.* 
suit  of  his  work  being  the  Book  of  Mormon.  This  is, 
in  brief,  a  history  of  the  branches  of  Joseph  referred  to 
by  Jacob -the  branches  thai  ran  over  the  wall  (the 
great  ocean)  even  "unto  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  ever- 
lasting hills. 

The  family  manifested  interest  in  what  I  told  them, 
but  were  by  no  means  ready  to  accept  the  Book  of 
Mormon  as  the  word  of  God.  I  asked  them  if  they  were 
familiar  with  the  prophecy  Isaiah  had  made  concerning 
the  branches  of  the  house  of  Israel  to  which  I  had  just 
referred.  No,  their  attention  had  never  been  called  to 
such  a  prophecy.  We  read  as  follows: 

"And  thou  shalt  be  brought  down,  and  shall  speak  oul  of  the 
ground,  and  thy  speech  shall  be  low  out  of  the  dust,  and  thy  voice 
shall  be,  as  of  one  that  hath  a  familiar  spirit,  out  of  the  ground,  and 
thy  speech  shall  whisper  out  of  the  dust."  (Isaiah  29:4.) 


18       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


"I  have  just  iold  you,  my  friends/'  I  said,  "how  this 
prophecy  was  fulfilled.  I  told  you  about  the  branches 
of  the  house  of  Israel  that  were  brought  down,  even 
unto  destruction.  I  also  told  you  how  these  people  had 
-by  means  of  their  records  -  spoken  "out  of  the 
ground,"  and  "whispered  out  of  the  dust,"  just  as  the 
Prophet  Isaiah  predicted. 

"There  is  a  somewhat  similar  prophecy,  made  by  the 
Psalmist  David,  which  is  recorded  in  the  85th  Psalm, 
as  follows: 

"  'Truth  shall  spring  out  of  the  earth/  and  righteousness  shall  look 
down  from  heaven.'  (Psalms  85:11.) 

"This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the  angel  Moroni 
came  down  from  heaven  and  when  a  volume  of  truth 
(the  Book  of  Mormon)  came  out  of  the  earth. 

"There  is  another  prophecy,  made  by  Isaiah,  con- 
cerning a  sealed  book  that  was  to  come  forth.  This 
prophecy  was,  as  I  shall  show  you,  literally  fulfilled 
soon  after  the  plates  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  had  been 
delivered  to  Joseph  Smith.  This  is  the  prophecy: 

"  'And  the  vision  of  all  is  become  unto  you  as  the  words  of  a 
book  that  is  sealed,  which  men  deliver  to  one  that  is  learned,  say- 
ing, Read  this,  I  pray  thee:  and  he  saith,  I  cannot/  for  it  is  sealed. 

"  'And  the  book  is  delivered  to  him  that  is  not  learned,  saying) 
Read  this,  I  pray  ihee:  and  he  saith,  I  am  not  learned. 

"  'Wherefore  the  Lord  said,  Forasmuch  as  this  people  draw  near 
me  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their  lips  do  honor  me,  but  have  re- 
moved their  hearts  far  from  me,  and  their  fear  toward  me  is  taught 
by  the  precept  of  men: 

"  'Therefore,  behold,  I  will  proceed  to  do  a  marvelous  work  among 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  19 


this  people,  even  a  marvelous  work  and  a  wonder/  for  Ihe  wisdom 
of  Iheir  wise  men  shall  perish,  and  the  understanding  of  their  prudent 
men  shall  be  hid.'  "  (Isaiah  29:11-14.) 

The  members  of  the  family  were  entirely  ignorant 
concerning  this  prophecy.  They  had  never  heard  of  it, 
and  did  not  know  anything  about  its  fulfillment.  They 
listened  attentively  while  I  related  how  the  prophecy 
had  been  fulfilled.  I  told  them  that  soon  after  Joseph 
Smith  had  commenced  the  work  of  translating  the  en- 
gravings on  the  plates,  a  man  named  Martin  Harris, 
who  had  befriended  the  prophet,  came  to  him  and 
asked  permission  to  take  the  characters  which  Joseph 
had  copied  to  the  city  of  New  York,  to  show  to  a 
learned  man  there.  To  this  Joseph  readily  consented. 
This  is  what  Mr.  Harris  told  the  Prophet  on  his  return: 

"I  went  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  presented  the  characters 
which  had  been  translated,  with  the  translation  thereof,  to  Professor 
Charles  Anthon,  a  gentleman  celebrated  for  his  literary  attainments. 
Professor  Anihon  stated  that  the  translation  was  correct,  more  so  than 
any  he  had  before  seen  translated  from  the  Egyptian.  I  then  showed 
him  those  which  were  not  translated,  and  he  said  that  they  were  Egyp- 
tian, Chaldaic,  Assyriac,  and  Arabic/  and  he  said  they  were  true  char- 
acters. He  gave  me  a  certificate,  certifying  to  the  people  of  Palmyra 
that  they  were  true  characters,  and  that  the  translation  of  such  of  them 
as  had  been  translated  was  also  correct.  I  took  the  certificate  and 
put  it  into  my  pocket,  and  was  just  leaving  the  house  when  Mr. 
Anthon  called  me  back,  and  asked  me  how  the  young  man  found 
out  that  there  were  gold  plates  in  the  place  where  he  found  them. 
I  answered  that  an  angel  of  God  had  revealed  it  unto  him.  He  then 
said  to  me,  'Let  me  see  that  certificate.'  I  accordingly  took  it  out  of 
my  pocket  and  gave  it  to  him,  when  he  took  it  and  tore  it  to  pieces, 


20       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


saying  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  ministering  of  angels,  and 
that  if  I  would  bring  the  plates  to  him,  he  would  translate  them.  I 
informed  him  that  part  of  the  plates  were  sealed,  and  that  I  was  for- 
bidden to  bring  them.  He  replied,  'I  cannot  read  a  sealed  book.'  I 
left  him  and  went  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  sanctioned  what  Professor 
Anlhon  had  said  respecting  both  the  characters  and  the  translation." 
(See  History  of  the  Church,  Vol.  1,  p.  20.) 

Having  shown  how  Isaiah's  prophecy  with  reference 
io  the  sealed  book  had  been  fulfilled,  I  directed  the 
attention  of  the  family  to  the  following  prophecy,  made 
by  Ezekiel: 

"The   word   of   the    Lord   came    again    unto    me,    saying, 

"Moreover,  thou  son  of  man,  lake  thee  one  stick,  and  write  upon 
it,  for  Judah,  and  for  the  children  of  Israel  his  companions/  then  take 
another  stick,  and  write  upon  it,  for  Joseph,  the  stick  of  Ephriam, 
and  for  all  the  house  of  Israel  his  companions: 

"And  join  them  one  to  another  into  one  stick;  and  they  shall 
become  one  in  thine  hand. 

"And  when  the  children  of  thy  people  shall  speak  unto  thee,  say- 
ing, Wilt  thou  not  show  us  what  thou  meanest  by  these? 

"Say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God/  Behold,  I  will  take  the 
stick  of  Joseph,  which  is  in  the  hand  of  Ephraim,  and  the  tribes  of 
Israel  his  fellows,  and  will  put  them  with  him,  even  with  the  slick 
of  Judah,  and  make  them  one  slick,  and  they  shall  be  one  in  mine 
hand. 

"And  the  slicks  whereon  thou  wrilesl  shall  be  in  Ihine  hand  before 
their  eyes."  (Ezekiel  37:15-20.) 

Here  was  another  remarkable  prophecy  which  had 
entirely  escaped  the  attention  of  these  good  people, 
notwithstanding  they  had  read  the  Bible  for  years.  I 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  24 


asked  them  what  they  thought  the  prophet  meant  by 
"the  stick  of  Judah,"  and  the  mother  replied  that,  in 
her  opinion,  he  referred  to  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  the 
Bible.  Questioned  concerning  "the  stick  of  Joseph," 
they  confessed  they  knew  nothing  about  it.  Taking  up 
the  Bible  and  the  Book  of  Mormon,  I  held  the  two 
precious  records  in  my  hand,  and  said:  "Behold  the 
fulfillment  of  Ezekial's  prophecy!  Here  you  see  the 
'stick  of  Judah'  and  also  'the  stick  of  Joseph/  and  the 
two  have  become  one  in  my  hand." 

The  members  of  the  family  looked  at  each  other,  and 
the  father  said,  "We  have  heard  things  this  evening 
we  never  heard  before.  Why  has  our  minister  not  told 
us  about  these  prophecies  and  their  fulfillment?" 

I  replied:  "In  all  probability  your  minister  does  not 
know  about  their  fulfillment,  hence  his  silence  con- 
cerning them.  People  cannot  tell  what  they  do  not 
know." 

I  continued:  "Now,  in  connection  with  the  prophecy 
which  Ezekial  made  concerning  the  two  sticks  that 
were  to  be  joined  together,  I  will  read  you  what  Christ 
said  concerning  two  flocks  of  sheep  which  He  had, 
and  which  He  said  would  be  gathered  into  one  fold. 
Here  are  His  words,  as  recorded  in  the  10th  chapter  of 
John: 

"  'I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known 
of  mine. 

"  'As  the  Father  knowelh  me,  even  so  know  I  the  Father/  and  I 
lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep. 

"  'And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold:  them  also 
I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice/  and  there  shall  be  one 
fold,  and  one  shepherd.'  (John  10:14-16.) 


22       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


"Some  people  entertain  the  erroneous  belief/'  I  said, 
"that  the  'other  sheep'  to  which  Christ  referred  were 
the  Gentiles,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  Christ  did  not 
recognize  the  Gentiles  as  His  sheep,  they  did  not  hear 
His  voice,  His  labors  were  confined  to  'the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel.'  Hear  the  words  which  He  spoke 
to  His  disciples  on  the  western  continent,  as  recorded 
in  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

"  'And  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  are  Ihey  of  whom  I  said, 
other  sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold;  them  also  I  must 
bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice/  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and 
one  shepherd. 

"  'And  they  understood  me  not,  for  they  supposed  it  had  been 
the  Gentiles/  for  they  understood  not  that  the  Gentiles  should  be 
converted  through  their  preaching/ 

"  'And  they  understood  not  thai  I  said  they  shall  hear  my  voice: 
and  they  understood  me  not  that  the  Gentiles  should  not  at  any 
time  hear  my  voice/  that  I  should  not  manifest  myself  unto  them, 
save  it  were  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  'But,  behold,  ye  have  both  heard  my  voice,  and  seen  me/  and 
ye  are  my  sheep,  and  ye  are  numbered  among  those  whom  the  Father 
hath  given  me.'  "  (III  Nephi  15:21-24.) 

A  member  of  the  family  said:  "I  am  one  of  those 
who  believed  that  Christ  referred  to  the  Gentiles  as  the 
other  sheep  which  He  had,  but  I  see  now  that  I  was 
mistaken.  It  is  true,  as  you  have  said,  the  Savior  did 
not  minister  to  the  Gentiles/  they  did  not  hear  His 
voice/  the  Gospel  was  not  taken  to  them  until  after 
His  resurrection  and  ascension." 

By  this  time  the  family  was  deeply  interested  in  my 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  23 


message.  I  told  them  there  was  one  more  Scripture  to 
which  I  desired  to  draw  their  attention.  It  was  an  ex- 
tract from  the  account  of  a  glorious  vision  which  the 
Lord  gave  to  His  servant  John,  while  the  apostle  was 
on  the  Isle  of  Paimos.  Turning  to  the  14th  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation,  I  read  the  following: 

"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the 
everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and 
to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue  and  people, 

"Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him/ 
for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come,  and  worship  him  that  made 
heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  waters."  (Rev. 
14:6,  7.) 

The  family  entertained  a  strong  belief  in  John's 
vision -they  believed  that  in  the  hour  of  God's  judg- 
ments an  angel  would  come  to  earth/  that  he  would 
bring  with  him  the  everlasting  Gospel,  which  would 
be  preached  to  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue  and 
people.  I  told  my  friends  they  were  very  much  like 
the  Jews,  who  are  looking  for  a  Savior  to  come  that 
has  already  come.  They  were  looking  for  an  angel  to 
come  that  had  come/  for  the  restoration  of  the  Gospel 
that  had  been  restored/  for  a  missoinary  work  to  com- 
mence that  had  been  in  operation  for  years.  I  told 
them  the  heavenly  messenger  whom  John  saw  in  vi- 
sion was  the  angel  Moroni,  who  appeared  to  Joseph 
Smith,  and  revealed  to  him  the  existence  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  which  contains  the  fulness  of  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel,  which  Gospel  is  now  being  preached 
among  the  nations,  "as  a  witness,"  before  the  end 
comes. 

"And  now,   my  friends,"  I  said,  "let  us  review  the 


24       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


Scriptures   I  have  quoted   to   prove   that   the   Book   of 
Mormon  is  a  true  record: 

"In  the  49th  chapter  of  Genesis  you  re&d  the  proph- 
ecy which  Jacob  made  concerning  his  son  Joseph. 
You  heard  how  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the 
Lord  led  a  company  of  people,  descendants  of  Joseph, 
from  Jerusalem  to  the  western  continent,  where  they 
became  a  great  nation. 

"In  the  29th  chapter  of  Isaiah  you  read  a  prophecy 
which  had  been  made  concerning  these  people -that 
they  would  be  'brought  down'/  that  they  would  'speak 
out  of  the  ground/  and  that  their  speech  would  'whis- 
per out  of  the  dust/  You  heard  how  this  prophecy 
had  been  fulfilled  in  the  coming  forth  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon. 

"In  the  85th  Psalm  you  read  the  prophecy  made  by 
David/  namely,  that  truth  would  'spring  out  of  the 
earth,'  and  righteousness  'look  down  from  heaven/ 
This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the  angel  Moroni 
appeared  to  Joseph  Smith  and  when  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon came  out  of  the  earth. 

"In  the  29th  chapter  of  Isaiah  you  read  a  prophecy 
concerning  a  sealed  book  that  was  to  come  forth,  and 
you  heard  how  the  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled  to  the 
letter. 

"In  the  37th  chapter  of  Ezekiel  you  read  a  prophecy 
concerning  two  sticks  -  the  stick  of  Judah  and  the  slick 
of  Joseph.  Here  on  the  table  lie  the  two  sticks  referred 
to  by  the  prophet -the  Bible  and  the  Book  of  Mormon. 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  S5 


"In  the  10th  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St. 
John  YOU  read  the  words  of  Christ  concerning  the 
sheep  He  had  which  were  not  of  the  fold  at  Jerusa- 
lem. I  told  Y°U  abo'ut  these  other  sheep,  the  sheep  of 
the  western  fold,  who  heard  the  voice  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  as  He  ministered  to  them  after  His  resur- 
rection. 

"In  the  14th  chapter  of  Revelation  YOU  read  about 
the  glorious  vision  which  the  Lord  gave  to  His  servant 
John  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  in  which  the  apostle  saw 
an  angel  'flying  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the 
everlasting  gospel,  to  be  preached  to  every  nation, 
kindred,  tongue,  and  people/  You  heard  how  these 
things  have  come  to  pass. 

"And  now  if  you  want  to  know  if  what  I  have  told 
you  this  evening  is  true,  I  commend  to  you  the  words 
of  the  Prophet  Moroni,  engraven  by  him  on  the  gold 
plates  a  short  time  before  his  death: 

"  'Behold  I  would  exhort  you  that  when  ye  shall  read  these  things, 
if  it  be  wisdom  in  God  that  ye  should  read  them,  that  ye  would 
remember  how  merciful  the  Lord  hath  been  unto  the  children  of 
men,  from  the  creation  of  Adam  even  down  unto  the  lime  that  ye 
receive  these  things,  and  ponder  it  over  in  your  hearts.  And  when 
ye  shall  recieve  these  things,  I  would  exhort  you  that  ye  would  ask 
God,  the  Eternal  Father,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  if  these  things  are 
not  true/  and  if  ye  shall  ask  with  a  sincere  heart,  with  real  intent, 
having  faith  in  Christ,  he  will  manifest  the  truth  of  it  unto  you,  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  (Moroni  10:3-5.) 

"There  is  much  additional  evidence  which  I  could 
adduce  to  establish  the  divine  authenticity  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  but  I  will  let  what  I  have  submitted  to  you 


26       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


this  evening  suffice.  If  people  -  especially  professing 
Christians- will  not  believe  the  prophets,  Christ,  and 
the  apostles,  they  would  not  believe  though  one 
should  rise  from  the  dead. 

"And  now,  my  friends,  I  ask,  What  are  you  going  to 
do?  Are  you  going  to  believe  the  Scriptures,  or  are 
you  going  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Jews,  who  not- 
withstanding all  that  the  prophets  had  written  con- 
cerning Christ,  rejected  Him,  and  brought  upon  them- 
selves condemnation?" 

The  family  purchased  the  Book  of  Mormon/  they 
read  it  carefully/  they  followed  the  advice  given  by 
Moroni,  and  they  received  from  the  Father -as  have 
thousands  of  others,  the  writer  included -the  witness 
of  the  Spirit  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  indeed  and  of 
a  truth  the  word  of  God. 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  27 


THE   TESTIMONY    OF    THREE    WITNESSES 


Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues,  and 
people,  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come:  That  we, 
through  the  grace  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  have  seen  the  plates  which  contain  this 
record,  which  is  a  record  of  the  people  of  Nephi,  and 
also  of  the  Lamanites,  their  brethren,  and  also  of  the 
people  of  Jared,  who  came  from  the  tower  of  which 
hath  been  spoken.  And  we  also  know  that  they  have 
been  translated  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God,  for  his 
voice  hath  declared  it  unto  us/  wherefore  we  know  .of 
a  surely  that  the  work  is  true.  And  we  also  testify  that 
we  have  seen  the  engravings  which  are  upon  the 
plates/  and  they  have  been  shown  unto  us  by  the 
power  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  And  we  declare  with 
words  of  soberness,  that  an  angel  of  God  came  down 
from  heaven,  and  he  brought  and  laid  before  our  eyes, 
that  we  beheld  and  saw  the  plates,  and  the  engravings 
thereon/  and  we  know  that  it  is  by  the  grace  of  God 
the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  beheld 
and  bear  record  that  these  things  are  true.  And  it  is 
marvelous  in  our  eyes.  Nevertheless,  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  commanded  us  that  we  should  bear  record  of  it/ 
wherefore,  to  be  obedient  unto  the  commandments  of 
God  we  bear  testimony  of  these  things.  And  we  know 
that  if  we  are  faithful  in  Christ,  we  shall  rid  our  gar- 
ments of  the  blood  of  all  men,  and  be  found  spotless 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  shall  dwell 
with  him  eternally  in  the  heavens.  And  the  honor  be 


28        WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 

which  is  one  God.  Amen. 

OLIVER  COWDERY, 
DAVID  WH1TMEK, 
MARTIN  HARRIS. 

AND  ALSO  THE  TESTIMONY  OF  EIGHT  WITNESSES 

Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues,  and 
people  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come:  That  Joseph 
Smith,  Jun.,  the  translator  of  this  work,  has  shown  unto 
us  the  plates  of  which  hath  been  spoken,  which  have 
the  appearance  of  gold/  and  as  many  of  the  leaves  as 
the  said  Smith  has  translated  we  did  handle  with  our 
hands/  and  we  also  saw  the  engravings  thereon,  all  of 
which  has  the  appearance  of  ancient  work,  and  of 
curious  workmanship.  And  this  we  bear  record  with 
words  of  soberness,  thai  the  said  Smith  has  shown  unto 
us,  for  we  have  seen  and  hefted,  and  know  of  a  surety 
that  the  said  Smith  has  got  the  plates  of  which  we 
have  spoken.  And  we  give  our  names  unto  the  world, 
to  witness  unto  the  world  that  which  we  have  seen. 
And  we  lie  not,  God  bearing  witness  of  it. 

CHRISTIAN  WHITMER, 
JACOB  WHITMER, 
PETER    WHITMER,   Jun., 
JOHN  WHITMER, 
HIRAM  PAGE, 
JOSEPH  SMITH,  Sen., 
HYRUM    SMITH, 
.SAMUEL  H.  SMITH. 


TO  BE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD 


THE  ARTICLES  OF  FAITH 
Of   the   Church   of   Jesus    Christ   of   Latter-day    Saints 


1.  We  believe  in  God,  the  Eternal  Father,  and  in  His 
Son,  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  We  believe  that  men  will  be  punished  for  their 
own  sins,  and  not  for  Adam's  transgression. 

3.  We  believe  that  through  the  atonement  of  Christ, 
all  mankind  may  be  saved,  by  obedience  to  the  laws 
and  ordinances  of  the  Gospel. 

4.  We    believe   that   the   first    principles    and   ordi- 
nances of  the  Gospel  are:  (1)  Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ/  (2)  Repentance/  (3)  Baptism  by  immersion  for 
the  remission  of  sins/  (4)  Laying  on  of  hands  for  the 
Gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

5.  We  believe  that  a  man  must  be  called  of  God, 
by  prophecy,  and  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  by  those 
who  are  in  authority,  to  preach  the  Gospel   and   ad- 
minister in  the   ordinances   thereof. 

6.  We  believe  in  the  same  organization  that  existed 
in  the  Primitive  Church,  viz.:  Apostles,  prophets,  pas- 
tors, teachers,  evangelists,  etc. 

7.  We  believe  in  the  gift  of  tongues,  prophecy,  rev- 
elation, visions,  healing,  interpretation  of  tongues,  etc. 

8.  We  believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God,  as 
far  as  it  is  translated   correctly/  we   also  believe  the 
Book  of  Mormon  to  be  the  word  of  God. 

9.  We  believe  all  that  God  has  revealed,  all   that 
He  does  now  reveal,  and  we  believe  that  He  will  yet 


30       WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

reveal  many  great  and  important  things  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

10.  We  believe  in  the  literal  gathering  of  Israel  and 
in  the  restoration  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  thai  Zion  will  be 
built  upon  this  (the  American)  continent/  that  Christ 
will   reign    personally   upon   the    earth    and,    that   the 
earth   will   be    renewed    and    receive    its    paradisiacal 
glory. 

11.  We  claim  the  privilege  of  worshiping  Almighty 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  conscience, 
and  allow  all  men  the  same  privilege,  let  them  worship 
how,  where,  or  what  they  may. 

12.  We  believe  in  being  subject  to  kings,  presidents, 
rulers,  and  magistrates,  in  obeying,  honoring,  and  sus- 
taining the  law. 

13.  We  believe   in  being   honest,  true,  chaste,  be- 
nevolent, virtuous,  and  in  doing  good  to  all  men/  in- 
deed, we  may  say  that  we  follow  the  admonition  of 
Paul  -  we  believe  all   things,  we  hope  all   things,  we 
have  endured  many  things,   and  hope   to  be  able   to 
endure  all  things.   If  there  is  anything  virtuous,  lovely, 
or  of  good  report  or  praisworthy,  we  seek  after  these 
things.  JOSEPH  SMITH. 


Published  by  the  Missions  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day    Saints    in    America 

Bureau    of   Information — Temple    Block,    Salt    Lake    City,    Utah. 
California   Mission — 2067    South   Hobart   Blvd.,    Los   Angeles    7,    Calif. 
Canadian  Mission — 133  Lyndhurst  Ave.,  Toronto,  Ontario  10,  Canada. 
Central  Atlantic  States  Mission — 125  Lincoln  Ave.,  Williamson  Road, 

Roanoke,    Virginia. 

Central   States   Mission — 302    South    Pleasant    St.,    Independence,    Mo. 
East  Central  States  Mission — 1440  St.  James  Court,  Louisville  8,  Ky. 
Eastern   States  Mission — 320    South    46th    St.,    Philadelphia   43,    Pa. 
Hawaiian  Mission — Box   591,    Wailuku,    Maui,    T.    H. 
Mexican   Mission — Monte   Libano    Num.    520,    Lomas   de   Chapultepec, 

Mexico,    D.F. 

New  England   Mission — 100    Brattle    Street,    Cambridge    38,    Mass. 
North  Central  States  Mission — 3240  Park  Ave.,   Minneapolis  7,   Minn. 
Northern  California  Mission — 5   Buena  Vista  Terr.,  San  Francisco  17, 

Calif. 

Northern  States  Mission — 6011  North  Sheridan  Road,  Chicago  40,   111. 
Northwestern  States  Mission — 1975   S.B.    30th  Ave.,  Portland  15,   Ore. 
Southern   States   Mission — 485    North   Avenue   N.E.,   Atlanta    5,    Ga. 
Spanish    American    Mission — 3531    Fort    Blvd.,    El    Paso,    Texas. 
Texas- Louisiana    Mission — 1220    Calumet,    Houston    4,    Texas. 
Western    Canadian    Mission — 10316     133rd     St.,     Edmonton,     Alberta, 

Canada. 

Western   States   Mission — 538    East   Seventh   Avenue,    Denver   3,   Colo. 

Press   of   Zion's   Printing   &   Publishing   Company 

Independence,   Jackson   County,    Missouri 

Printed  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


Statue  of  the  Angel  Moroni  Atop  the 
Salt  Lake  Temple 


